The Big RA Update

Hello, folks. It has been far too long. Before anyone asks, I am still alive and this is not actually my cat typing at my keyboard. Those rumors are completely unmeowed and I am offended. The good news is that even if Chief has been replaced by a dozen cats in a trenchcoat, work has still been moving forward! Let’s us talk about what big news events are happening in the RA development world, nyah?

Rising Angels: Fates:

Okay, this one comes with good and bad news. Let’s get the bad out of the way right from the start because it is both the most painful and the only piece of bad news in the epic update. Gonna rip it off like a bandage.

When I set out to make Fates, I wanted to make a much more interactive game. Tons of different things you could present to everyone, different little storylines in the evidence, and so many possibilities. It was going to be amazing. But then I started writing out most of these and… to make a long story short, they were boring as heck. There was about 20% good, solid story and scenes there and 80% that was utter waste of time. If it was boring someone who was as invested into this as I am, I hate to think what everyone else was going through. It wasn’t like it was just a little bit of work, there were so many items to present to so many different people. The amount of work being required by this dull stuff was threatening to choke the project out.

So… here it is. The bad news is that we are scaling down to a more traditional visual novel. I know this diverts from our original idea, but it is needed to not only get the project back on track for a release, but to make sure that release is a lot more polished and clean. I didn’t want to say this, I’ve spent the last few months trying to find a way to deny it, but I humbly have to admit that it was a bad idea. Phoenix Wright works because of the much smaller cases, where as Fates was all of the cases combined and all of the evidence never went away. We are going to be working as many of the best ones into the story and thinking about including some of the other ones as short stories in the book.

Like Chief lately, Natalie is about to get a sword in her face.

But this isn’t one of those situations where everything is bad and I’m trying to put an optimistic spin on it. During one of those moments when I was banging my head against the desk to try and loosen up some ideas, one fell out. I started writing the continuation of Rising Angels: Reborn with the ending where you hand it over to the government and the words just started to flow once more. What was supposed to be a short writing exercise developed into a full fledged story. So with the returning help of some of Reborn’s art team (Nuge and her sister), there is now a second Fates game. Remember, Fire Emblem Fates came after RA Fates, so we did it first!

It has been a month since the crew of the Katajion spaceship Nimross returned safely after a mission to recover a prized artifact went airy. Command’s support of how everything transpired is weak and many of her crew face disciplinary actions for their part in the operation. It all weighs heavily on Major Natalie Puccile, whose investigation led them down that route, but not nearly as much as the knowledge that she was forced to decide between the woman she cared about and her mission. With only a tankard and a collection of games to distract her from her life, Natalie begins to question why she signed up in the first place.

That’s when the first ray of hope in the storm of her life begins to shine through. A charming woman, Aria, comes to the suffering major with a dire plea. When taking a prominent researcher to a campsite, her shuttle went down and Aria needs the help of the KSS Nimross to save the lives of those now stranded and scattered on the planet. With a purpose driving her once again, Natalie sends the Nimross out once more to save the lives of the innocent.

Brianni, the Nimross’s new co-pilot

That’s right, unlike Apostate, the original Fates, you start in a really bad place with Zuri. New members to the cast, some new sprites and outfits for a couple of the existing crew, and new locations to visit. The main character role is shared a bit with Natalie, Zuri, Kika, and some of the others getting time as they play their parts in the mystery that unfolds. Our plan is to release them together in the upcoming months, so you will get the choice to decide if you want to remain loyal or strike out on your own with the support of your friends and allies.

Baby Draemon: Oria Trail:

If there is one thing that I love to do late at night to burn stress, it is coding. It’s cathartic because unlike most creative fields you have a much narrower goal. I want it to do this, here’s how this can be done. Much easier than writing when you are burnt out. Over the past couple years, Geckos and I have used those late night stress relief moments to make a small game. A game that is finally ready for a bit of the public limelight! It’s still in fairly early Alpha status, but we are at a point where we’d like to start getting feedback soon.

Danger lurks in every direction

Baby Draemon: Oria Trail is a roguelike where you start off with a randomly generated draemon and have to take them through the grueling trials to become an adult. It’s a fun little game with a new draemon and a new terrible fate to put them through with each playthrough. Right now, it is mostly just the free mode, but there is a plan to make a short story mode where you play through as a young Zuri and get to go through… well, a rather dark experience through blistering heat, frigid cold, and a weird world that has get to be fully explored in the RA lore.

A warrior must fight…

Rising Angels: Hope:

This one is only getting a small section. There’s not a lot new to announce here since the game was fully released several months ago. We are currently working on getting an android version posted up soon so that way people can enjoy it on the move. I know I have been going back through it when I have to enjoy my short lunch breaks at my desk! To celebrate that, I have been putting together some extra scenes (which will be included as an update to the steam version). It’s not a drastic increase, but I wanted to include some more Kika and supporting character scenes in the game. It felt like she didn’t get as much time as Yoi and Lenna did. We are also adding some more poses for several characters.

We are still considering doing voice acting for Hope, but that is still very much in the air. If there is a strong amount of interest in it, please let me know.

We are doing a Kika daki for Hope, as well as an Iotor one.

Okay, so let’s just summarize all the key points.

-Fates is being scaled back in terms of gameplay, but getting an additional story. They will release together in Q1 2017.

-We have a roguelike that will be needing testers soon.

-Hope is going to get an android port and some story expansions.

This is the big push, folks. Chief is back to working himself to unhealthy levels to make progress, but RA games are going to be in your hands as soon as humanly possible. I am going to be doing updates again on a more regular basis, but I they will be monthly instead of weekly. I just don’t have the time in my life for weekly ones without stealing heavily from dev time. Until next time, Chief out.

We need a good video o’ the post! While I hate jumpscares, I really love this song. And it contains no real jumpscares! All the better since I don’t really want to replace the monitor after punching a jumpscare out.

I’m so glad to see that Fates is back on track. (I did the VO for Stan, and since then have been checking in periodically.) Should you want to use me for future projects, please feel free to make contact. Cheers.

Glad to see your cat has not taken over! While I am disappointed that your original plan fell through, I am looking forward to the new game and next chapter of Rising Angels. The series is a underrated gem in my personal opinion. I would love to see voice acting added to RA:Hope but only if it is not an unnecessary nuisance for you and your team.

It’s so good to see you’re ok, Chief!
I hope you haven’t been overworking yourself during the months.
And I’m really sorry things weren’t looking too good with the original plans for RA: Fates. I can’t imagine what it was like for you to go through that…

Oh, and I’m super hyped for RA: Allegiance! That is BRILLIANT idea! I was always wondering, what would happen if Natelie picked her job over a blossoming love connection with Zuri. And the fact that Natelie has to choose to either loyalty to or crew or to join up with that new crew! So hyped!!!! I can’t wait to play this!!!

And then the Baby Dramon Oria Trail, I know that’s gonna be addictive!!!!

Very cool idea. Creating two games based on both the good and bad endings, or rather the bad one is more an alternate ending now. Looking forward to seeing how both pan out. I wish you and your the best of luck in successfully pulling off this double version sequel and the other goodies you have planned.

Ah, I tried to make a comment a while ago but it looks like it didn’t work! I’m so glad to see that things are progressing, even if they aren’t going exactly as originally planned. I did the voice for Zuri and am looking so, so, so forward to seeing the game come out. If Zuri ever makes another appearance that you want voiced, just let me know 😉

I’m super interested in voice acting for Hope (partially because I want to audition but also because I’d love a full experience). Super happy to see an update, even if I’m 2 months late to the party haha.

I haven’t been the best fan, but now that I finally checked on this blog and learned of Rising Angels: Hope’s release, I purchased it ^^b

I want to play the sequel to Reborn so bad you have no idea ;o; I ended up getting super involved in the story. Zuri~~
This baby draemon mini-game looks pretty sweet (and sad!) too. Best of luck to you guys!!